Missing gay Syrian refugee found beheaded, mutilated in Turkey

(CNN)A gay refugee living in Turkey has been found brutally murdered, his body so mutilated his friends could only identify him by his pants, a local rights group said.

The man went missing on July 23 and was found two days later in the Yenikapi district of Istanbul.

He had previously been threatened, kidnapped and raped, according to Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association (KAOS GL), a Turkish rights group. CNN is not naming the victim out of concern for his family's safety.

On Sunday, the man's housemates told KAOS GL that police called them to identify their friend's body.

"We identified him from his pants... They had cut (him) so violently. So violent that two knives had broken inside him. They had beheaded him. His upper body was beyond recognition," his friend said, whom CNN is not naming for safety reasons.

The refugee had been in Istanbul for about a year. It hasn't been confirmed whether he was killed for being gay. As of Friday, his killers had not been detained.

His housemates said this wasn't the first time the man had been kidnapped. He had been previously abducted about five months ago and taken to a forest, where he was beaten and raped.

"I am so scared. I feel like everyone is starting at me on the street... No one cares about us. They just talk. I get threats over the phone," another of his roommates told KAOS GL.

In June, a gay pride parade in Istanbul was interrupted by police with pepper spray and rubber pellets after 13 years of being allowed to march uninterrupted.

At the time, activists told CNN it was an attempt by President Tayyip Erdogan to appeal to his conservative base.

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The Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee postponed a hearing featuring former acting Attorney General Sally Yates after her lawyer advised the Trump administration that she was planning to testify about internal discussions about Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Mike Flynn, and his communications with a Russian diplomat, ABC News has learned.

Any claim that those internal discussions are still confidential "has been waived as a result of the multiple public comments of current senior White House officials," David O'Neil, an attorney for Yates, wrote in a letter to the White House on Friday — the same day that Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., announced that his committee, which has been investigating Russian meddling in last year's presidential election, would no longer hear planned testimony this week from Yates, former CIA Director John Brennan or former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

The White House has denied taking any action to prevent that testimony.

"I hope she testifies. I look forward to it," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said today. "We had no objection to her going forward ... To suggest in any way, shape or form that we stood in the way of that is 100 percent false."

Flynn resigned from the Trump administration last month after acknowledging that he gave "incomplete information" to Vice President Mike Pence and others about multiple calls with Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak in the days before Trump took office.

Pence repeated the false information when asked about the situation in January, prompting Yates to inform the White House that Flynn may have misled Pence and other senior officials about his communications with Kislyak.

In her testimony slated for today, Yates was expected to offer a firsthand account of her discussions with the White House in January.

On Thursday, O'Neil met with attorneys at the Justice Department to discuss — among other things — whether Yates was barred from testifying about certain details of those discussions. But the next morning, the Justice Department sent a letter to O'Neil, telling him any final determination rests with the White House.

"Such communications are likely covered by the presidential communications privilege and possibly the deliberative process privilege. The president owns those privileges. Therefore, to the extent Ms. Yates needs consent to disclose the details of those communications to HPSCI [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence], she needs to consult with the White House. She need not obtain separate consent from the Department," a Justice Department official wrote to O'Neil on Friday.

O'Neil then wrote his letter to the White House, insisting any claim of executive privilege had been waived "as a result of the multiple public comments of current senior White House officials describing the January 2017 communications. Nevertheless, I am advising the White House of Ms. Yates' intention to provide information."

The White House never responded to his letter — which he wrote would be taken as a green light for Yates to move forward.

"We didn't respond. We encouraged them to go ahead," Spicer said, adding that the White House never considered invoking executive privilege to block her testimony.

Spicer also insisted that Nunes' decision to call off today's hearing had nothing to do with any pressure from the White House. Nunes himself said that no one directed him to postpone the hearing.

Jack Langer, a spokesman for Nunes, similarly denied any coordination between the committee and White House over Yates' testimony.

"Neither Chairman Nunes nor any Intelligence Committee staff members had any communication with the White House whatsoever about Sally Yates' testifying to the committee," Langer said in a statement. "The only person the committee has spoken to about her appearing before the committee has been her lawyer. The committee asked her to testify on our own accord, and we still intend to have her speak to us."

The Washington Post first reported on the letters between O'Neil and the Trump administration.

Yates, an Obama administration appointee, was fired by Trump on Jan. 30 after she instructed the Justice Department not to defend his controversial executive order limiting travel and immigration from seven countries in Africa and the Middle East.

Nunes and the congressional inquiry he's leading into alleged Russian interference have come under increasing criticism in recent days, after he first claimed he had discovered "concerning" evidence that the Trump campaign was monitored after the election.

Last week, Nunes announced he obtained "dozens of reports" showing the U.S. intelligence community — through its "normal foreign surveillance" — "incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition."

But Nunes cannot say whether Trump or any of the president's associates personally participated in the communications that were intercepted, meaning it's possible that the information he's citing merely refers to foreign officials talking about Trump transition team members.

Nunes has yet to share the information with other members of the House Intelligence Committee or further explain what it shows. He said Tuesday that he will "never" reveal sources or methods to fellow committee members but that he still hopes to share the documents.

On Monday, without identifying his source, Nunes acknowledged he obtained the information while on White House grounds, an admission Democrats said should force him to at least recuse himself from the committee probe tied to Russia.

Star of the hit TV show Shark Tank, real estate expert Barbara Corcoran shares 3 crucial rules on how homeowners could save thousands of dollars and pay off their mortgage faster -- just by taking advantage of today’s “ridiculously low interest rate.”1

1. "Not shopping the market...is like giving money away"

Did you know 70% of homeowners get all their mortgage information from their current lender? Big mistake. If you don’t shop around, you won’t know if you’re getting the best rate — and you won’t know if you qualify for a brilliant government program called the Home Affordable Refinance Plan (HARP).2

Even though 3.38 million mortgages have been refinanced through HARP, hundreds of thousands of homeowners are still eligible for this free government program, which could help you save as much as $3,500 in the first year alone.3

URGENT: HARP is set to expire this year, and sadly, many still perceive this program to be too good to be true. Remember, there is NO cost to see if you qualify for this amazing government program.See if you qualify >>

2. “If you don’t take advantage of the market now, when will you?”

Even though The Fed raised rates in late 2015, rates are just as low if not lower than they were one year ago.4 What does this mean for people like you? According to Corcoran, it means that now is the time for homeowners to “take advantage of today's cheap money.”

3. “The sooner is always the better”

These rates are still at near historic lows for now, but no one knows when the rates will rise - or by how much. So while it’s estimated that millions of homeowners can still save by refinancing, they should act fast. HARP is due to expire this year, so you can’t afford to wait. If you want to get the “ridiculous low interest rate” that Corcoran talks about, you have to act now.

How to Get Started

To cut through the clutter, Barbara Corcoran suggests that a great place to start is online, at The Easy Loan Site.5

Its network of lenders is one of the largest in the nation, and includes many HARP lenders. Plus, it enables you to save time and money by letting you compare multiple lenders at once. It’s a risk-free way to find out how much you could save, and the service is 100% free.*

How to pay less for your prescription drugs, legally

(CNN)Even a not-so-pricey drug can add up to a nightmare expense when it needs to be refilled every month.

The $600 price tag on EpiPens, $1,000-per-pill hepatitis C drug Sovaldi and the $750-per-pill price increase on the AIDS drug Daraprim have spurred outrage over pharmaceutical drug costs. To get prescription medicines for less, many people try these six tricks.

Free samples

Some patients request free samples from their doctors to help reduce drug costs, according to the Food and Drug Administration website. From the physician's perspective, this is an easy way to ease a patient's concerns. After all, pharmaceutical companies give free samples of brand-name drugs -- usually the new, expensive ones -- to doctors as a promotional tool, so those doctors usually have no problem passing them on to their patients.

However, free samples are intended to allow patients to evaluate the side effects of a new drug for a couple of weeks before actually buying it, according to the FDA. So samples, by definition, provide only a temporary fix.

Generic drugs

Many people ask either their doctors or their pharmacists to swap out a brand prescription for a cheaper generic alternative. Generics are variations on the expensive name-brand drugs that have lost patent protection.

"Whereas the average cost of a name-brand prescription was $268 in 2011, it was only about $33 for a generic drug," noted the National Center for Policy Analysis (PDF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization.

Naturally, many people make good use of these lower prices. According Holly Campbell, a spokeswoman for PhRMA, an industry representative for drug makers, "generic utilization rates are nearly 90%."

Getting the best price on a drug may require an extra step beyond simply asking. Often, pharmacies offer discounts on generics for those who buy in bulk, such as when you purchase a three-month supply of your medication all at once. You may also need to explain any special circumstances, such as being a student or a senior, and it helps to simply request the lowest price possible.

The major chain pharmacies also offer discount generic-drug programs, which you usually pay a small fee to join. You also need to provide them with personal information (that may be sold to marketing companies). If you have a chronic illness and know that many refills are down the road, the fee and divulged data may be worth it to you.

Though generic drugs may appear to be more cost-efficient, they may not be as low-cost as consumers anticipate. For instance, the National Center for Policy Analysis found that half of all generic drugs increased in price over a one-year period ending in July 2014, with some rising in price dramatically: Eighteen percent of generic drugs rose in price by 25% or more, while some increased by more than 100%.

Another potential downside with generics is a slight difference in formulation, which may equal a big difference in side effects. Though the brand name is easy to tolerate, you might get a headache, say, when taking the generic. However, in some cases, the reverse is true, and some patients tolerate the generic better than the brand-name.

Prescription drug coupons

These coupons market discounts and rebates on out-of-pocket expenses or co-pays directly to the consumer. They are available from various sources, including doctors' offices, marketing pamphlets and online. Typically, consumers sign up online for virtual drug discount cards and then do a web search and print out an eCoupon to be used at a pharmacy.

The free app and website GoodRx allows consumers to search, shop for and download coupons from their own cell phone or computer. Basically, you print out a card or coupon, go to the pharmacy and present it for either a reduced cost or reimbursement.

What may be misleading about coupons is that you may end up paying more or being reimbursed less than you expected, said Timothy K. Mackey, director of the Global Health Policy Institute at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

As Mackey explained, zero-pay coupons may seem generous on the part of pharmaceutical companies, but ultimately, insurers end up paying what you do not. To offset costs, insurers eventually change their coverage limits or raise the co-pay on certain drugs in order to pass the costs back to consumers.

Even more, whenever you apply online for a discount card or coupon, what is written into the terms and conditions is data collection: The pharmaceutical company is gathering marketing data on what you think and your demographics, which can be used or sold.

While most of us perceive these subsidized consumer copays as a discount, they're really a whole ecosystem of brand recognition, brand loyalty and data generation for marketing, said Mackey. Consumers need to be careful when using coupons, keeping abreast of any changes in terms and prices. Though at first a coupon supplies a discount, a generic may come on market some time later, so you may continue buying the discounted brand when a much cheaper generic is available.

A recent behind-the-curtain program was launched by Physicians Interactive: eCoupon automatically searches for and delivers any applicable prescription drug coupons for you directly to your pharmacy. That may sound wonderful, but according to Mackey, it's just another direct-to-consumer advertising scheme.

Essentially, the system checks coupon availability for any medication prescribed by your doctor, checks your personal eligibility and then automatically sends a coupon for you directly to your pharmacy. Leveraging and linking your electronic health records to prescribing systems, this smart system "target markets" you at the point of sale.

Patient assistance programs

Commonly referred to as PAPs, these pharmaceutical drug company programs offer free or reduced-cost medications to low-income, underinsured or uninsured individuals.

Because each medication may have its own PAP and eligibility requirements, signing up for these programs is "onerous," according to Mackey.

"Every company has its own eligibility criteria for PAPs, and, in most cases, US citizenship and some proof of income, such as tax records or a record of social security benefits, are required," according to the FDA. PAP forms also require a doctor's signature.

PatientAssistance.com, a nonprofit organization founded in 2008, provides consumers with a searchable database of thousands of PAPs, allowing you to browse by brand name, generic drug name or pharmaceutical company name. There's also the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a website that provides access to more than 275 public and private PAPs, including more than 150 programs offered by drug companies. It also shows people how to contact Medicare and other government programs.

"We in the research community don't see them as terribly effective, but we don't have data on this," Mackey added. "We don't know the impact they have."

Comparison shopping

Prescription drug prices are not set in stone and can vary greatly among pharmacies and retail stores. The indie drugstore may offer a better price than the big chain. Prices can even vary between locations of the same chain.

To help you find the best price, there are a variety of websites and apps. One website, BlinkHealth, offers online prices with the security of brick-and-mortar oversight; with this site, you can search for drugs and pay cut-rate prices online and then pick up your prescription at a nearby pharmacy.

LowestMed, a freebie, helps you compare prescription drug prices at local stores. Type in the name of your drug, and this app, which claims it will find discounts as high as 85%, will compare prices in your area. Prescription Saver, another free app, performs nearly the same service, with the added benefit of giving directions to the nearest cost-saving pharmacy.

The OTC Plus, designed by board-certified doctors, is essentially a matchmaking app joining an over-the-counter medication to a list of your particular symptoms. This free app also shows you how to read medicine labels and sends coupons to your cell phone.

Finally, the big-time players such as Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid each have free apps for customers. These help customers fill and refill prescriptions and show weekly discounts on pharmaceutical prices.

Online pharmacies

"In January 1999, Soma.com became the first pharmacy to operate via the Internet and sell medicines directly to the consumer," Mackey noted in a paper published this year. Today, an estimated 35,000 online pharmacies operate globally.

Digital drugstores may work to your benefit ... or deliver death directly to your door via UPS.

"If you go to online pharmacies, there's a host of drugs they sell," said Mackey, who noted among the plethora of available options are "products you shouldn't be able to get," such as drugs in critical shortage, vaccines and controlled substances.

Make no mistake that excellent online pharmacies exist, selling FDA-approved medications to people with prescriptions. To verify a website, the FDA recommends looking for the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites Seal and then visiting the website to confirm.

Mackey suggests Legitscript, an internet security company that uses computational methods to determine whether a particular site is complying with laws and regulations.

In the virtual world, you cannot trust that an online pharmacy with an address in Saskatchewan, Canada, is real. You need to check a pharmacy's legitimacy; otherwise, you may unknowingly purchase counterfeit drugs or real drugs that have expired.

"You're taking a risk," said Mackey, "Expired or counterfeit, the drug's not going to be effective when you use it." For a drug intended to be life-saving -- such as an EpiPen -- unless it's the real deal, you could die.

"The reason online pharmacies exist is because there's a demand," Mackey said.

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